Houseelves loyalty WAS: Re: JKR site update WOMBAT part 2

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 159212

> Magpie:
> I thought that House Elf allegiances were to families, not houses, 
and based
> whatever answer there was on that. Clearly it's the person since 
Kreacher
> belongs to Harry whether he's at Grimmauld Place or Hogwarts. So I 
don't
> think that's a problem--House Elves are definitely (imo) bound to 
the
> family, not the house. I think that was a question that said one 
of the
> things were false and I chose House Elves being loyal to the house 
rather
> than the family as being false.
> 
> Kimberly here:
> This is where I think the allegiance to the house comes in.  If 
Kreacher wasn't
> bound to the house but the family, then he would have passed on to 
the next
> blood line in the Black family, not the next owner of the house.   
It seems the
> ownership of the house takes precedant over the family.   Whomever 
owns
> the house, gets Kreacher rather than whomever is next on the 
bloodline.
>   It's like splitting a hair, it is a very fine line I believe.

a_svirn:
Both the house and the elf were Sirius's *property*. He left his 
property to Harry. As Dumbledore explained, property in the Black 
family passed down through the male line. Since there were no male 
Blacks left, Sirius was free to pass it elsewhere. That's all there 
is to it.